


Not Such a Bad Day

by upsteadheart



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:48:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29324982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upsteadheart/pseuds/upsteadheart
Summary: Hailey’s having potentially one of the worst days she’s had since joining Intelligence. But like always, her other half doesn’t let it stay too miserable for too long.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 8
Kudos: 62





	Not Such a Bad Day

Today had not been Hailey Anne Upton’s day. First, she had been late to a crime scene this morning because she got stuck boxed in at the Starbucks on Michigan Ave by some double-parked blonde soccer mom chasing a pumpkin-spice, double-shot concoction of some sort.

Then when she finally did get her hands on a coffee of her own, some guy in a suit was too busy talking stocks, trades and whatever a ‘gross domestic product’ was into his Bluetooth to notice he knocked right into her, making Hailey spill the coffee all over her new white blouse.

And already being way late to work, she had to drive up to the crime scene wearing her decaf grande skim latte which the barista had forgotten to make decaf, rather than having the chance to ingest it.

Somehow though, as if he’d gotten some sort of a sign from the heavens above, when she rolled up to the scene, Jay, the saint that he was, stood there waiting for her with a fresh coffee at hand.

But the nice moment was short-lived. Soon, Voight was barking out orders and dispersing the team on a handful of different assignments, tasking Jay and Hailey with going to a potential witness’s place to ask him a couple of questions.

After exhausting about three different leads to find the guy, the partners finally located him to Lincoln Park, hanging with his boys by the wood pavilion.

“Shaun Wheeler!” Hailey had called, when they finally found him right where they’d been advised to look for the teenager by the afterschool counsellor he sometimes spent time with.

The partners approached where he stood with three of his buddies. “Hey, man, we gotta ask you a couple quest –” Before Jay had been able finish his sentence, the kid bolted in the other direction.

“I GOT HIM! CALL IT IN!” Hailey told her partner, before taking off after the kid. After giving her quite the early-morning workout in an attempt to catch him, the kid was finally cornered by the blonde detective, her last move to catch him being to tackle him into the frozen pond.

And thus, sticking the final feather in the cap of what was officially Hailey Upton’s worst day in intelligence.

Once Jay arrived with back up, the uniforms took care of bringing in the suspect, while Jay helped his now drenched partner out of south pond and got her back to the district to change into some dry clothes after getting quickly checked out at MED per Voight’s orders.

\--

After having given his partner a few minutes to change, Jay stepped into the locker room to check on her. When he heard the sound of sniffling coming from inside, worry slapped him in the chest.

“Hails?” He dropped, turning the corner to find Hailey standing at her locked, now changed into a fresh pair of black leggings and a grey tee.

The second he came into view, she swiped the tears away from her eyes, but there was no hiding this from him. “Hey…” Jay came over to her, taking her by the hand and leading her away from her locker, over to the bench between the rows of lockers.

Hailey wiped away another stray tear, as they both sat down straddling the bench, face to face. Hailey didn’t let herself get emotional like this at work, and usually PDA was a no-no, saved for off-work hours.

But she was having the crappiest day imaginable, overwhelmed with too many emotions she didn’t have the words to express, and she finally hit her boiling point.

Jay took her hand in his, wiping her tears with the other. “Thought we had an agreement about you letting me help you carry things when it gets to be too much and vice versa.” He reminded her.

Hailey nodded, sniffling away a couple more tears. “Thought I had it sorted. Thought it was just a bad start to the day, that I’d get to work and just start over.

But things just got worse and worse from there and they haven’t stopped.” Another couple frustrated tears ran down her cheeks, only making her feel worse for sitting here like this, crying in the middle of the locker room.

Jay curled a finger under her chin, making his girlfriend look right into his eyes. One gaze into his baby blues, and Hailey already felt herself start to come down.

“It’s been a rough day, we all get ‘em sometimes. Adam and Kev are headed out to pick up some lunch from the diner.

Think getting a little more fuel into ya should do you some good. Then we’re gonna finish up this day together, no matter how miserable it is.

And then tonight, after supper, we’re gonna go for a late-night drive down the I-90, just drive around, you and me.” Jay suggested.

“That sounds nice.” Hailey dropped, trying to muster up even half a smile through the sheer misery overtaking her. 

Jay smiled a little more convincingly, then slid down the bench, pressing a kiss against her forehead and enveloped her in his arms.

Hailey clung to him shamelessly, dropping her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and using it to calm her raging nerves.

As everyone began to pack up for the night around ten, Jay stepped around his own desk to Hailey’s, leaning against the corner.

“Made it through the day.” He brought up. Hailey nodded her head and smiled at him. “Yeah, yeah… Somehow, made it through this God-awful day.” She assured herself that it really was over and she really was headed out with her boyfriend for the night.

“Ya still wanna go for that drive, or are you feelin’ a little too tired tonight?” Jay asked her.

“No, I’m still a little wound. Actually, a quiet, relaxing drive with my boyfriend is just exactly what the doctor prescribed.” Hailey told him, flashing him the most convincing smile he’d seen on her all day.

Jay pressed a kiss against her forehead, before grabbing her bag, slinging it over his shoulder, and holding his hand out to her.

Hailey slipped her hand into his larger one, as they two made their way out of the bullpen. “Night, guys.” Hailey bid their team.

“Night.” “Drive safe.” Kevin and Adam returned, getting ready to head out themselves.

As promised, after dinner, Jay and Hailey both got changed into some comfier clothing than what they’d worn to work all day.

Hailey kept her same black leggings but ditched the t-shirt and threw on Jay’s academy sweater which she positively swam in.

Jay opted for a pair of sweats and a muscle tee. Then grabbed the keys to the truck and headed down to the parking structure under Hailey’s building.

He’d been spending so much time over at her place, spending the night most nights, Jay started paying for a spot in the underground lot of her building, while they slowly went through the paces of starting to move into her place together.

They’d agreed during another late-night pillow talk that they really weren’t gonna find another place with a better bang-for-your-buck situation than Hailey had going here.

And with the proximity it had to the district, all their favourite dives and the rest of their friends’ places, they really couldn’t have a more suitable option to move into.

So, while the prospect of moving in together both had them a little uneasy at first, Jay still carrying a little residual anxiety and hold back from the last time he’d made this sort of a move with someone, and Hailey taking on a fair bit of commitment she wasn’t so used to…

It was a move that both terrified them and excited them both. But they were going into it together, and that already made it so much less scary.

\--

Driving down the skyway at quarter past eleven, the highway was positively deserted. Making the couple’s drive that much more peaceful and relaxing.

“Doin’ a little better, Hails?” Jay checked in with his girlfriend. She turned her head a little to look at him and smiled convincingly. “Yeah. This is exactly what I needed. Thanks, Jay.” Hailey told him sincerely.

He dropped a hand to her leg and patted her knee, then leaving it there and giving it a light squeeze. Hailey dropped hers on top, lacing her fingers through Jay’s.

“Nothin’ I wouldn’t do to make you smile, baby girl.” And again, that just made her smile grow that much wider.

“Wanna turn on some music?” Hailey offered, as a couple lingering thoughts started making her head heavy again, when she’d so much more prefer just keep it empty right now.

Jay nodded. “Yeah, sure. Pick whatever you like.” He allowed, as Hailey instantly started messing with the radio buttons in front of her.

“Let’s see…” She dropped, flipping through the Sirius XM channels Jay had programmed into the car. “No, no, no…” Hailey mumbled to herself, skipping over a few channels that really didn’t fit the vibe she was looking for.

“God no.” She groaned, skipping over the ‘Elvis Radio’ channel, making Jay laugh. “Check out the 70’s or the 80’s.” He suggested.

Hailey flipped the dial a couple more times, landing on the 80’s channel just as a classic started. “Ah, now that’s music.” She dropped excitedly, finally lighting up after the horrific day she’d had, as Starship began to play through the truck’s admittedly pretty awesome sounding speaker.

She hit the volume nob, turning it up. “… lookin’ in your eyes, I see a paradise, the world that I’ve found is too good to be true…” Hailey sang along under her breath, figuring Jay couldn’t hear her with the music playing so loudly and the noise of driving down the highway.

If only she knew Jay could hear her clear as day. Something not too many people knew about his girlfriend, was that she was naturally a pretty good singer. Not exactly Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston.

But he’d caught her mumbling along to the radio before, or going around her apartment singing an earworm or two whenever they hit.

It was soft, sort of sweet sounding. Made his heart melt and feel all gooey inside.

“… Let’em say we’re crazy. I don’t care about that…” Jay joined in, making Hailey beam. “Put your hand in my hand baby don’t ever look back…” The two of them went at it together.

Jay cranked the volume up to the point that the truck was practically bouncing. But he hadn’t seen his partner this bright and happy in weeks.

“… AND WE CAN BUILT THIS DREAM TOGETHER, STANDING STRONG FOREVER, NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US NOW… AND IF THIS WORLD RUNS OUT OF LOVERS, WE’LL STILL HAVE EACH OTHER, NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US, NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US NOW…” 

Like something out of a romcom, the two turned the truck’s radio into a karaoke machine, having the time of their lives ripping down the highway, blasting classic sounds and singing their hearts out, wiping away all memory of the crap day behind them.

———

Hailey opened the door to her apartment, as the two stepped back inside. “Thank you so much, Jay. That felt so good, I can’t even begin to describe it.” She expressed, handing him her jacket as he hung them both up in the hall closet.

“Staying the night?” Hailey asked him, kicking off her boots, dropping to the couch and leaning her feet against the arm.

“Yeah, after today, I’d kinda like to have you to myself for the weekend.” Jay told her, coming over to the couch, lifting her legs, sitting in their place and dropping them to his lap.

Hailey smiled at that, her dimples folding, making his heart melt as always. A recurring thought came back to her. The one she’d pushed down all day, emptied her mind of again on the drive, but that seemed to keep coming back like clockwork.

“Jay… I –” She started, getting a questioning look from her boyfriend. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a few days. But things just kept getting in the way. Cases, interrogations, slowly moving you in here…” He nodded his head, following so far.

The small smile on her face told him it couldn’t be that bad or serious. “It’s okay, take your time.” Jay ran his hand down her arm, taking her hand in his.

“I – I never imagined I’d be saying this to you. Not – yet, anyway.” Hailey rambled. Then using her usual regulator, looking into his eyes, she found her words.

“Jay. I’m pregnant.” For a couple of seconds, he froze, giving her a few seconds to worry about his reaction. “What!?” He let out, a massive smile breaking across his features.

She couldn’t contain her own, something, somewhere between a small laugh and relieved breath falling from between her lips.

“I started feeling… Different, the last few days. I figured… what’s the harm in checking, right?” Hailey explained. Then she reached into the stand beside the couch, pulling out a tiny white stick and holding it out in front of Jay, letting him see the pink plus sigh on the small screen.

Jay shook his head in disbelief, then looked back up at her. “You’re really pregnant?” His voice cracked slightly, his eyes filling with tears, as emotions got the best of him.

Hailey nodded vigorously, a couple tears of her own rolling down her cheeks. “I’m really pregnant. We’re really pregnant.” She confirmed.

“Oh my god, Hails…” Jay dropped, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tight. Her arms wound tight around his neck, clinging to her partner.

His hand held the back of her head, the other around her waist. “That’s why you were all over the place today.” Jay gathered.

Another short laugh escaped Hailey. “It’s funny, I didn’t even make the connection today, but yeah… Makes sense.” She agreed.

“Oh, god! What about your fall this morning?” Jay instantly panicked. Hailey nodded her head. “I slipped the word to Nat when I got checked out at MED this morning.

She said everything’s fine.” He let out a deep breath of relief. “Just also told me no more playing superhero while I have this little one in me.” She smiled down at her undeveloped stomach.

Hailey released a deep breath, pulling her head back to look at him, now that she’d gotten that out and let him in on the big secret.

“So – you’re on board with this, I mean, you’re okay with it?” Hailey checked. “Oh, god, Hails… Of course, I’m okay with it, babe. I’m ecstatic.” He assured her.

She smiled at his reassurances. “I know we’re both not the most religious, but everybody’s got a different priorities chart, and I know we have risky jobs which adds another element to consider… I haven’t even really stopped to ask myself if I can even do this, but –” Hailey rambled.

“Hails.” Jay released a soft chuckle, taking her hands into his in an attempt to slow her down. “Baby, we got nine months to figure this out, alright?

I’m already more than halfway moved in. We’ve both got a solid job and income. And this baby doesn’t know the half of the insane family it’s gonna be born into.

Everything’s gonna be fine, Hails.” Jay assured her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. And for the first time in as long as she could remember, Hailey believed him when he said that.

She believed that she wasn’t alone in this, that they would do this together. Whatever obstacles came her way, knowing Jay was right there to walk through it all with her just like he had every second of the last five years… That was all the assurance Hailey needed to know everything was gonna be okay.

“I want donuts.” Hailey randomly brought up, making Jay laugh hysterically. 

\------

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
